What's The Next Big Thing?

Change will always happen, that's why there will always be next things.
Some of these things tend to be bigger than other things that's why there will be next ‘big’ things. The big (!) question here being off course: what is that next big thing?

Before I will try to answer that question it might be good to tell what that question means to me. I read the question as ‘what is the next big consumer trend?’

To answer that it is first important to realize that the most important word in this question is the word consumer since he or she is always at the birth of any new trend. Anyone who doesn’t create, consumes so it is safe to say that there are quite some consumers out there and an thus equal amount of trends.
These smaller consumer initiated trends are all very interesting and well worth mentioning but they become even more interesting when they are added up to that one big consumer trend. That next big thing.

Derived from many smaller trends I think that next big thing will be consumers moving into the top layer of the Maslow model, the so-called ‘self-actualization’ layer, where they are very conscious of their own needs and abilities.
Striving to fulfill those needs and maximize their abilities materialist things become subordinate to personal growth, development and eventually creation (the opposite of materialism/consumerism).

I won’t list all the smaller trends that underscribe this trend just now because I think that this post is already becoming to long (and also because, honestly, I don’ yet know them all). But I will keep posting them under the tag ‘Maslow’.

Anyone an opinion on this?